1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cabinets. In particular, the present invention relates to cabinets having at least two doors and a mechanism that prevents one of the doors from being opened when the other door is open.
2. Description of Prior Art
Cabinets having an interlock for doors, which prevents the opening of both doors at the same time, are known and have been used in various industries. One example of this type of mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,686 to Jett, III, which discloses a transfer chamber including a rocker arm, which may be rocked between a first door locking position and a second door locking position. If the rocker arm is in the first door locking position, opening the second door causes the top edge of the door to engage a latch flange on the rocker arm, thereby preventing the rocker arm from rocking. This retains the first door in a closed position.
Another patent disclosing an invention similar in nature is U.S. Pat. No. 1,632,683 to Tracy, which discloses an automatic entrance protector for a vestibule having doors arranged in pairs. Each pair of doors is arranged such that when a first door is opened, the paired door automatically locks, preventing the opening of both doors at the same time. This locking is accomplished through a series of pivoting levers, which communicates the movement of the first door to a locking mechanism associated with the second door.
Additionally, other patents describe a two-door locking mechanism, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,536 to Gamble, U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,193 to Smith, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,603,404 to Proctor.